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Erie Otters
The Erie Otters are a Major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the circuit. History The Erie Otters were previously located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where they were called the Niagara Falls Thunder. They moved to Erie Insurance Arena in downtown Erie in time for the 1996–97 season. After three seasons of mediocrity in Erie, they won the Midwest Division's Holody Trophy in 1999. It was their first of three consecutive Midwest Division championships, culminating in a J. Ross Robertson Cup in the 2001–02 season. Additionally, Dave MacQueen won the Matt Leyden Trophy in 2000–01 as the OHL Coach of the Year and Sherwood Bassin was awarded OHL Executive of the Year for his role in building a championship team as general manager. The Erie Otters were the second U.S. team to win the OHL Championship, following the 1994–95 season champions Detroit Junior Red Wings (now the Plymouth Whalers). Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) officially partnered with the Erie Otters in 2012 as their official medical provider. On March 18, 2017, the Erie Otters became the first team in Canadian Hockey League history to record four consecutive 50-win seasons in a row (2013–17). The Otters had previously shared the record of three consecutive 50-win seasons with the Kelowna Rockets (2012–15), Edmonton Oil Kings (2011–14), Saint John Sea Dogs (2009–12) and the Kamloops Blazers (1989–92). The Connor McDavid era (2012-15) Connor McDavid (a Canadian center) played for the Erie Otters from 2012 to 2015, before joining the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Otters chose him as their first overall pick in the OHL Priority Selection Draft. The NHL Central Scouting Bureau subsequently named him the top North American prospect for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft where the Oilers selected him first overall. The Greater Toronto Hockey League named Connor "Player of the Year" for the 2011–12 season following a record of 79 goals and 130 assists. Hockey Canada, the governing body for amateur hockey in Canada, granted him "Exceptional Player" status which permitted him to play in the OHL a year earlier than would otherwise be permissible for a player his age. Connor was only the third player to receive that status, after John Tavares and Aaron Ekblad. Season-by-Season Record Regular season Playoffs Final represents the series total games for the round, except for Memorial Cup games. Arena The Erie Otters play their home games at Erie Insurance Arena, which opened in 1981 and currently seats 6,833 spectators. It is a centerpiece of the Erie Civic Center Complex, which also includes the UPMC Park baseball stadium, home to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. Uniforms & Logos The Erie Otters' colors are navy blue, gold, red and white. Their primary logo features a circular outline with a fierce, anthropomorphic otter furnishing a hockey stick and gear. The "Otters" wordmark is superimposed over the design in red with gold and navy blue outline. The team's home uniform includes a navy blue sweater with red and gold accents. The away uniforms feature a white jersey with navy blue and red trim. For the 2013 season, the Erie Otters introduced a gold alternate jersey. This jersey features a navy blue shoulder yoke, navy blue and white stripes, and the cursive "Otters" wordmark centered across the chest. The design resembles the sweaters of the defunct Erie Blades, who played from 1975 to 1982. For the 2016 season the Erie Otters began wearing these gold alternate jerseys for every Saturday home game throughout the regular season. With this change, the team also introduced gold helmets to pair with the new uniform set, rather than the blue helmets worn in previous seasons. Coaches *''' indicates replacement mid-season. NHL Alumni * Nikita Alexeev * Brady Austin * Nick Baptiste * Adam Berti * Michael Blunden * Brad Boyes * Chris Breen * David Broll * Connor Brown * Andre Burakovsky * Chris Campoli * Carlo Colaiacovo * Tim Connolly * Remi Elie * Brendan Gaunce * Luke Gazdic * Justin Hodgman * Mike Liambas * Brett MacLean * Connor McDavid * Greg McKegg * Steve Montador * Adam Munro * Jordan Nolan * Ryan O'Marra * Ryan O'Reilly * Nick Palmieri * Jeff Paul * Adam Pelech * Anthony Peluso * Geoff Platt * Michael Rupp * Dylan Strome * Stephen Valiquette * Philip Varone * Jason Ward * Jeff Zehr NHL Draft Picks A total of 37 players have been selected at the NHL Entry Draft since the franchise relocated to Erie, including a five-year stretch from 1997–2001 in which seven members of the team were selected in the first round: Jason Ward (1997: 11th), Michael Rupp (1998: 9th), Tim Connolly (1999: 5th), Nikita Alexeev (2000: 8th), Brad Boyes (2000: 24th), Carlo Colaiacovo (2001: 17th) and Adam Munro (2001: 29th). Connor McDavid became the only player in team history to be drafted first overall after being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft on June 26, 2015. Retired Numbers *Brad Boyes (#16) *Vince Scott (#18) Accolades Championships Coaches Players Team Records Single season player records '''* indicates season still in progress. Goalie records based on minimum of 1500 minutes played. Single season team records Losses are qualified as Regular Season losses. * indicates season still in progress. Category:OHL teams